AHDB Pork Country Reports

BPEX / AHDB Country Reports - Ireland January 2013

While Ireland is not among the EU’s major pig producing Member States, its small population means that
it is still a significant exporter of pig meat. Given its proximity to the UK, it is no surprise that it is one of
the five leading suppliers of UK pork imports and it is also an important supplier of processed pig meat
products to the UK. In addition, Ireland exports around 50,000 live pigs to slaughter in Northern Ireland
each month.

Pig Numbers

The Irish pig herd has been increasing in recent years and this trend continued in the year to June 2012. The total number of pigs increased by one per cent to 1.57 million head. There was a particularly sharp rise in the number of unweaned piglets, suggesting that recent improvements in productivity have continued.

However, the trend for the breeding herd is different, with a sharp decline in numbers of breeding females in the year to June, despite higher gilt numbers. There was a particularly sharp fall in suckling and dry sows, which were down by 19 per cent to 24,700 head. This may be partly the result of some producers culling sows in the run up to the partial ban on sow stalls from the start of next year.

Irish Pig Numbers, June

Source: Eurostat

Production

In contrast to most EU Member States, Irish pig slaughterings have remained above year earlier levels for most of 2012. Across the first nine months of the year, throughputs were up by four per cent year on year at 2.2 million head. This follows an increase of nine per cent between 2010 and 2011. Slightly higher carcase weights meant that Irish pig meat production was up five per cent compared with the first eight months of last year at 181,000 tonnes. Provisional weekly figures suggest that supplies were tighter in October and November, with througputs slightly down on last year.

Weekly sow slaughtering figures from Bord Bia suggest that sow cullings have been running around 10 per cent higher than last year through most of 2012. This follows an increase of around eight per cent between 2010 and 2011. In part, this reflects increased replacement rates but it also suggests that some producers have been liquidating or reducing their herds.

Irish Pig Slaughterings

Source: Eurostat

Trade

About three quarters of Ireland’s pig meat production is exported. Therefore, with production rising, the amount of pig meat available for export is increasing. During the first nine months of 2012, shipments of fresh and frozen pork were up by 11 per cent compared with a year earlier. With volumes sent to other EU Member States up by just one per cent, the growth was mainly driven by non-EU markets. These were up by nearly a third largely as a result of a near tripling of shipments to China. Russia also took a significant share of Irish exports but volumes were only slightly higher.

Despite the growth in exports to China, the UK
remained Ireland’s primary market, accounting for a
third of exports and with year on year growth of 10 per
cent. The UK also buys a significant quantity of
processed pig meat products, including sausages, from
Ireland.

Although it is a net exporter of pig meat, Ireland also
imports some cuts, amounting to around 35,000
tonnes of pig meat annually. Imports were little
changed in the first nine months of the year, despite a
fall in shipments from the UK.

As well as shipping pig meat to the UK, Ireland also
sends a significant number of live pigs to slaughter in
Northern Ireland. This trade is not reflected in official
Irish figures but data from the Department of
Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland
show that the trade amounts to around 12,000 pigs per
week.

January – September

Source: CSO Ireland, GTIS

Prices

Irish pig prices have moved steadily upwards since the
start of the year. During January and February, prices
were stable at around €145 per 100kg.

Prices then moved up before stabilising again around
10 euros higher from mid May to early August. Since
then, prices have taken a number of further upward
steps, reaching around €170 per 100kg by October.
This was the highest level recorded for more than 15
years. The rise followed the trend seen elsewhere in
the EU, reflecting higher prices on Ireland’s export
markets, despite Irish pig supplies remaining strong.

Irish Pig Reference Prices

Source: EU Commission

Outlook

With strong Irish slaughterings in the first nine months
of the year and increased numbers of piglets in the
latest census, throughputs look set to be much higher
in 2012 as a whole than in 2011. With carcase weights
little changed, pig meat production will also be up by a
similar amount, around five per cent. Most of this
additional production will be destined for the export
market and Irish pig meat consumption is likely to be
little changed from last year. Indeed, with the Irish
economy still weak, consumption may actually fall
slightly.

The decline in the Irish breeding herd identified in the
June pig census suggests that slaughterings and
production may fall back next year. The extent of the
fall will depend on how the Irish industry responds to
the welfare changes, including the partial ban on sow
stalls, which come into force at the start of 2013. With
less pig meat being produced but export demand
remaining strong, domestic consumption is likely to fall
further.